s at the ladder we descended and took our places in it. A few
strokes of the oars brought us to the bank, where we found two camels
awaiting us. On closer inspection I discovered that the individual in
charge of them was none other than the man who had boarded the steamer
that afternoon, and whom I have particularized as having shown such
obsequious respect to Pharos.

At a sign from the latter, one of the camels was brought to his knees,
and I was invited to take my place in the saddle. I had never in my life
ridden one of these ungainly brutes, and it was necessary for the
driver to instruct me in the art. Pharos, however, seemed quite at home,
and as soon as he had mounted, and the camels had scrambled to their
feet once more, we set off.

If my drive to the Pyramids, a week before, had been a singular
experience, this camel ride among the ruins of ancient Thebes at
midnight was much more so. On every side were relics of that
long-departed age when the city had been the centre of the civilized
world.

After the heat of the day the coolness of the night was most refreshing.
Overhead the stars shone brilliantly, while from the desert a little
lonely wind came up and sighed for the desolation of the place. Nothing
could have been in better keeping with the impressiveness of the
occasion. One thing, however, puzzled me, for so far I had seen nothing
of the chief, and indeed the only reason of the expedition--namely, the
mummy of the dead Magician. I questioned Pharos on the subject, who
answered briefly that it had been sent on ahead to await our coming at
the tomb, and having given this explanation lapsed into silence.

It must have been upward of half an hour later when the tall Arab, who
had all the way walked in front of the camel upon which Pharos was
seated, stopped and held up his hand. The animals immediately came to a
standstill. Peering into the darkness ahead, I found that we were
standing before a gigantic building which towered into the starlight.
This proved to be the main pylon of the great Temple of Ammon, the most
stupendous example of human architecture ever erected on the surface of
our globe. On either side of the open space upon which we stood, rows of
kriosphinxes showed where a noble road had once led from the temple to
the river.

At a signal from Pharos the man who had boarded the steamer that
afternoon left us and entered the building, leaving us outside.

Fully five minutes must have ela